Bus Trip and Cannabis
 

When we were going by bus from Amsterdam to Paris, we were stopped just inside the French border. A drug dog was brought aboard and he sniffed his little heart out. Then, he went to the luggage compartment under the bus and sniffed again. It would not be advisable to bring anything the French do not want across the border! You have been warned!

Oh, and here I thought you were going to write all about the prevalent presence of Cannabis on a recent bus trip!

years ago, when we were on spring break from studying in France, a group of girls went to Amsterdam. One wanted to see the real art and her friends promised her they would go... well, they ended up in a bar and 8 hours later, were still there. So my friend got annoyed and decided to hoof it to Paris to join us. On the way out (this was the golden age of Eurail passes), she was yanked off the train and they took apart her luggage and searched her. Apparently, going in and out of Amsterdam on a single day was a marker for drug traffickers and she had a long evening at the border. They finally released her, but she was pretty terrified in the process (but clean).

its always a good reminder, but I think you should be aiming this at the college student forums, not us old people.

The same happens when you take Eurolines to London (they go via France)

They do that (the dogs) on the Thalys sometimes, too. Of course, I also had it done to me on the train from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.

I think this is a good warning for people of any age. After all, it's not that rare to see a middle-aged person posting here asking for advice about Amsterdam "coffeeshops".

Not just the buses - any form of transport from Amsterdam gets a bit of extra attention.

I've seen it done on trains from Switzerland into Italy as well...

And I've been sniffed in New York flying in from London.

The dogs were sniffing in Brussels too.

A US border security person told me they give bags on flights from the Netherlands extra attention, and if we are on a direct flight from Schiphol we always see dogs working the immigration queue. He said it is amazing how many "forgotten" baggies turn up - and not only in young peoples baggage - more often it's the middle aged and elderly who do it because they think they won't be suspect.

Just curious--does anyone know what happens if they find a small amount of cannabis? I have a general impression that it isn't a major issue but would be a hassle.

Fair-complexioned youth are given a warning. Others may be in for more trouble and a fine.

its always a good reminder, but I think you should be aiming this at the college student forums, not us old people.>

well i'm a vieux pet and the same harrowing experience happened to me on an overnight train to Munich from Amsterdam - snatched me and all my belongings and took me to the baggage car and searched every single item - took about an hour - during the middle of the night. They left me with my belongings in a pile without so much as saying sorry bout that or anything. I thought i was in Nazi Germany - so old farts beware as well. I must have been tagged for some erroneous reason - they were looking for heroin or cocaine i think.

Pal - I think your reputation has made you a usual suspect in most parts of the world.

:))

the French paranoia about cannabis is rather bizarre IMO - French kids smoke cannabis more than anyone in Europe and about the same as American kids - yet the Dutch, who the French gov't has been trying to blackmail into changing its soft drugs policies - their kids the same age smoke about 50% less than French kids

and the French have De Gaulle to bitch about the Dutch model!

I did not go into detail above, but on the random drug search of the luggage compartment, 5 bags were chosen at random and guess what - Mine was one, so I got to watch -the go all the way through the backpack- while the rest of the bus watched experience. My wife took pictures till a policeman became interested in the sound of a shutter snapping. She put the camera up, but got a couple of really good pictures. My bag of pill bottles -5 bottles in all- raised a question, but I had them in the ORIGINAL bottles with my name, Dr. Name and Druggest Name and name of pills. Butt saved again. Also, be forwarned, taking prescription drugs in bag with no names listed above can be hazardous to your trip with jail time or at least a looonnngg look at you at the station, while everyone else goes onward. There has been discussions on this board about combining drugs and putting them into generic bottles to save space. My recommedation -NAAAAH, leave a piece of clothing home and take the bottles. This is for the old farts on this page, of which I am one, who take heart pills, diabetis pills, pain pills, etc. They were really interested in my Oxycotin bottle, but with label, it/I passed.

We flew from Amsterdam back to the U.S., about three years ago. We were two parents, with two teenagers. They took both our teens aside and very meticulously went through their bags.

You don't even have to cross an international border. I was on a train from Naples to Siracusa last year, and in Messina, after we crossed to Sicily, a couple of guys in uniform came through the train with dogs. They didn't check the luggage on the overhead racks, though.